Witness
by Unhobbity Hobbit
Summary: All she could do was watch as the scene played out before her.


Piece to glorfinniel's "Rain" (which you can find as one of my favourite stories). I suggest you read it if you want to know what's going on in Dean's head.

Witness

It had been a normal day spent moping around after being too annoyed with her brothers to stay in the house, chewing gum just because her mom didn't like it. Sitting on the park bench glowering at the small children with their happy families was how she often spent her time these days and she knew she'd cool down soon and she'd get back home in time for dinner and everyone else would have cooled down by then because that was what always happened. It wasn't going to happen today, though.

The squeal of tyres followed by a sickening thud, broke through Tanya's mood. She turned in her seat and looked to the road. A car was accelerating away from the park as quick as it could, leaving behind – Tanya's heart jumped to her throat – leaving behind a body.

"Sammy!" the yell rang out across the park, even the little brats on the playthings had stopped to look. The man who'd been at the side of the road ran to the one lying in the middle of it. Tanya was frozen in horror. Then her brain kicked into gear.

_911! 911! Fucking dial 911!_

She fumbled in her pocket for her cell phone. She pulled it out with shaking hands as she got up and ran to the road. She dialed the number with shaking hands and brought the phone to her ear as she watched the man in front of her completely break down.

"Hello? What service do you need?" said a voice on the other end of the phone.

"A-ambulance, I need an ambulance!" Tanya babbled quickly. She told the woman on the other end where she was and what had happened, all the while thinking how much she wished she'd stop sounding like a scared little girl. Even if that was exactly what she was. Just as the woman on the other end told her to stay on the line her cell died. She stared at it and shook it, as if that's ever worked, turned it on again only for it to switch itself straight back off. She slipped it back into her pocket and cautiously moved closer.

By now half the park were gathered around the road but no one else moved closer than Tanya. From where she stood she could see the uncontrollable fear in the conscious man's eyes, or was he the living man? She could see his knuckles whiten as they gripped the fallen man's, Sammy's, hand. The long moments seemed to crawl by while everyone just stood and stared, no one knowing what to do and most of them being mothers that didn't want to get their children involved. The crouching man looked up and stared all around him like a wild animal, quick movements, like he was cornered and didn't know what to do. He looked back at Sammy and talked to him, laughed, pushed the hair out of his face, Tanya could only stare in wide-eyed horror.

Tanya was just inching closer when the sounds of sirens came. The paramedics leaped out of the ambulance the moment it stopped, one of them warning everyone to get back and the other going to the centre of the scene. He went straight to the conscious man, placed his hands on his shoulders and possibly said something reassuring to him, Tanya couldn't tell, her view was blocked by the one telling her to get back. A third paramedic approached Sammy and took his pulse. It couldn't be good, there was a pool of blood around them now and it was only going to grow.

The man didn't seem to like anyone else touching Sammy, though and he reacted violently. He must have been confused, it was the only way Tanya could make sense of it. He drew a gun from the back of his jeans and aimed it at the paramedic, the other one backed away pretty quickly. Small screams came from the mothers surrounding her, but Tanya remained silent.

"Get away!" he yelled, "Get away from me and my brother!" the paramedic raised his arms in an attempt to placate the man but Tanya was hardly watching, her eyes were fixed unmovingly on the gun. The gun was cocked. "Get away," he said again. Tanya realised he was quite prepared to do anything to get everyone away from his brother. _Oh God, fuck, please, shit, please don't, for God's sake don't, please,_ she silently begged. The crowd didn't need to be held back anymore, there was no way in hell Tanya was going any closer if there was a chance she'd be sprayed with blood and guts, or get shot herself.

"Put down the weapon," urged the paramedic that had been holding the crowd back. He was older than the other two and his words were firm but held no threat. The man dropped the gun like it had burnt him and then his hands were immediately back on his brother, on Sammy. The gun was on Sammy as well, the man looked at it, horrified, choking back a dry sob before swatting the gun away. Tanya sighed in relief, this man wasn't bad, he was just distraught.

"Sorry Sammy," his voice was stretched to breaking point, Tanya strained to hear it, "I'm sorry," a child somewhere was crying, Tanya sincerely wished it would shut up, "I didn't mean to." The man's hands were shaking even as he clung desperately to his brother's. The pain in his face was almost unbearable to look at. Tanya didn't dare look at Sammy's face because if she did, she just knew it would haunt her nightmares for months to come. The blood that covered it, that leaked from the open mouth, the eyes that were open and glassy, with no life left in them, no person behind looking out of them. Just thinking about it made her feel sick. A car had done that, a car, like the one she was learning to drive, like the one she'd rode in yesterday. The less she wanted to think about it, the more the idea went round and round her head.

The cops arrived, bringing her temporary relief from her endless, circular thoughts, only to replace them all with one big one. _Shit, they're going to get their guns out, that's the last thing anyone needs_. Four patrol cars pulled up and the officers got out. The man looked up at them, glared at them so hard Tanya was surprised they didn't burst into flame, but then he looked back down at his brother, the look softened, became completely lost once again. Some of the cops aimed their guns at the man while others worked to get the crowd even further back. Tanya was still right at the front and she fought to stay there, edging forward when she hoped no one was looking.

"Stand slowly with your hands on your head," Tanya groaned. She'd been watching this guy for over half an hour now and she just knew he wasn't going to do anything of the sort. She silently willed him to, she didn't want him to be shot, partly because he didn't deserve it and partly because she just didn't want to see it. But she couldn't bring herself to look away, "Stand slowly and step away. You are a threat to the public and unless you follow our orders we will be inclined to shoot." _He's not a fucking threat to the public,_ she thought angrily, _his gun's on the ground in front of him, leave him alone for Christ's sake! _He was still staring at Sammy, like he was trying to memorise every feature before it could be taken away from him. This scared Tanya, if he thought he wasn't going to see Sammy again, he must be about to do something monumentally stupid.

She was right. She wished so hard that she hadn't been. "This is your final warning. If you do not obey our orders within the next thirty seconds we will open fire." _Please, just give him some more time, his brother's just died, leave him alone!_

The man reached out for his gun, Tanya's eyes widened further, if that was possible. She wanted to scream but it caught in her throat. She felt like she was floating, like nothing was real. Time slowed as she watched the hand grasp for the gun, his whole body stretching forward. _Don't be so fucking stupid, leave it there, do as they say!_ His fingers brushed the barrel. "Stop! Do not attempt to retrieve your weapon!"

He grabbed the gun and brought it back towards him, sitting back to his original position. Suddenly Tanya was seeing everything. She saw each cop standing behind their open car doors, each face in the crowd, the scared kids, their horrified mothers, random passersby staring in shock, people peering out of their windows in the houses. She saw the lights still flashing red and blue, the trees swaying in the breeze, a bird making its lazy way by, the clouds in the previously sunny sky turning to grey.

There was a bang and time started moving again. Another shocked the tears out of her eyes. A third marked the moment her hands flew up to her mouth to hold back her screams and sobs. The fourth and final shot left the man slumped forward over his brother. Not dead, not dead yet. He brought his hand to Sammy's cheek, he was speaking but Tanya was too far away to hear, his voice too weak to carry and the children's screams too loud in her ear. He laid his head to rest on his brother's chest and closed his eyes.

The heavens unleashed their downpour, joining the climax of the scene with perfect theatrical timing. Tanya didn't stick around to watch the scene wind down. She pushed her way out of the crowd, tears falling hard and fast and loud sobs choking her and getting stuck in her throat.

Once she was free she ran. She ran home fast as she could, didn't care about getting soaked to the skin. She had to get home, she had to see her family. Her beautiful, living, breathing family.

FIN


End file.
